On August 11, China’s National Security Department announced that they had cracked a case involving a spy from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Today (August 21), the Department revealed another incident involving the CIA. The suspect in this case is a 39-year-old official of a Chinese state department, who once studied in Japan.
According to the details provided by the National Security Department, the suspect, identified as Hao (born in January 1984), was an official of a Chinese state department. While studying in Japan, Hao met an official named Ted from the U.S. embassy while processing his visa for the U.S. Over time, Ted fostered a closer relationship with Hao, offering him meals and gifts, and even commissioned him to write papers with a promise of payment. Before Ted’s tenure at the U.S. embassy in Japan ended, he introduced Hao to another colleague, Li Jun, and they continued their collaboration.
Shortly before completing his studies, Li Jun revealed his identity as a CIA staff member in Tokyo and persuaded Hao to take on espionage roles within core Chinese units upon returning to China. Agreeing to this, Hao signed a spying agreement with the U.S. and underwent their assessments and training.
Once back in China, as per the CIA’s instructions, Hao secured a position within a state department. He met with CIA agents covertly several times, providing intelligence and receiving espionage payments. The activities of Hao were later discovered by the National Security Department, and he is currently under investigation.
In a related case disclosed earlier on August 11, another individual, identified as Zeng (born in July 1971), an important staff member of a Chinese military-industrial group, was also found to be involved in espionage activities. While undertaking sponsored studies in Italy, Zeng became acquainted with Seth, an official from the U.S. embassy in Italy. Over time, through activities such as dinners, outings, and opera viewings, their relationship grew closer.
Gradually, Zeng became dependent on Seth emotionally. Taking advantage of this, Seth introduced Western values to Zeng, which led to Zeng’s wavering political stance. Eventually, Seth revealed his identity as a CIA staff member in Rome and offered a significant sum of money, along with the promise of U.S. immigration for Zeng’s family, in exchange for sensitive Chinese military information.
Zeng agreed and signed an espionage agreement with the U.S., undergoing their assessments and training. After returning to China from his studies, Zeng continued to meet covertly with CIA agents, providing them with critical Chinese intelligence and receiving payments in return. After thorough investigation, the National Security Department obtained evidence of Zeng’s espionage activities and took legal action. Zeng’s case has now been transferred to the prosecutor’s office for further evaluation.
